AVFC statement - McLeish sacked.

[Concrete John]

So their Kenny-defence will be he identified the players and Comoli negotiated the fees!

It'll be "Kenny probably thought Carroll was worth 10m at most, it was Comoli's fault they spent 35 on him"

That transfer is incredible, if any other club had paid that far over the top for such an average player, they'd have been slaughtered for it in the media.

What gets me about it is that when they do defend it, it's always on the basis that he was signed for his potential and it may take him time to reach that.  Fair enough, but if you're signing a player and needing to complete his development, you don't pay top dollar for him, which is what they did.  He may well become the most dominant striker in English football, but then you sign him for £35m*.  Until then, potential is paid for at a lower premium than the finished article.  A good example of this was out buying Ash for a still hefty price, but then working with him to become a top level winger and England international, then worth at least double what we paid.


*play a little Devils Advocate there, as I don't think he'll be worth £35m as long as his arse faces the ground.

[Dante Lavelli]

I imagine Comoli getting sacked counts as Downing's first assist of the season.

Brilliant!

Comoli would not be my first choice as a DoF as previously his role generally seems to be about scouting players, whereas I think we need a guy to create a footballing identity for Villa, a guy to ensure that we are at the forefront of youth development and sports science.

HOWEVER, if the option is having no footballing influence on the board, like now, or Comoli then it is a no brainer.  In his defence at liverpool he was also (arguably) responsible for finding a few of their current youngsters.

[Dante Lavelli]

This is from the Beeb Rumours Page:

Former Reading and Manchester City boss Steve Coppell approached League Two side Crawley Town over the possibility of joining the club as director of football.

Another option as a DoF.

[Simon Ward]

I imagine Comoli getting sacked counts as Downing's first assist of the season.

Boom boom!

[Chico Hamilton III]

Former Reading and Manchester City boss Steve Coppell

How many people would describe Coppell as "former Manchester City boss?

He was there for less than a month wasn't he?

[VillaAlways]

Found this letter on another forum. Thought it was rather good

Dear Mr Lerner,

I am writing to you to congratulate you on the appointment of Alex McLeish as I felt I needed to balance out the negativity and criticism that McLeish and yourself have received since he became manager of the club.

The appointment has shown that since you bought the club somewhat five years ago, you have really grasped the culture of Aston Villa. You see, I often thought that supporting Aston Villa was exactly what supporting an English football team was about. You would have a few seasons of hope and enjoyment thinking that this time something was just around the corner. And then it`d all go wrong and we`d start from scratch again. As you have grasped, this would leave us supporters disappointed, frustrated and pretty much fed up of the whole experience. Yet come next week, we`d be back at the stadium.

Now there is no more disappointment. The lack of hope which has now been thoroughly placed throughout the team, stadium and supporters means that we can no longer be disappointed about only managing one home win in six months, or losing points weekly because it feels like key issues such as defending at set pieces are not being addressed. Simply put, we now go to games knowing that the club won`t win and that we`ll most likely concede from a set piece at some point in the game.

How on earth can we Villa fans be disappointed anymore when we know exactly what will happen, week in, week out?

The complete trashing of any hope by Alex McLeish has really helped lower expectations of a fan base who`d expect more than one home game win in six months. Was it not Alex himself who told all Aston Villa supporters that "Arsenal are an elite club, and we can`t expect to beat them". It really put things in perspective - and makes this season`s achievement of beating Chelsea, last season`s victories against Arsenal and Liverpool (not to mention the majestic draws which McLeish himself would have loved against Chelsea and Manchester United) show themselves to be the flukes that were. They have better players than ours, so quite rightly we should not even entertain the idea of trying to win the game and in fact make it as easy as possible to beat us. A bit like when you are lapped in Formula One you have to let the faster car go by you without putting up a battle.

In doing so, this has made it much easier to get tickets for games. Admittedly, this was never too hard, but with so many people not bothering for the recent mouth-watering tie against Stoke City it meant that I could drive away home at full time with no traffic jams whatsoever. Marvellous stuff.

Those moaners who whinge about going to games and not seeing the team win week in, week out. They have no right to complain about that or the apparent 'negative` football on display. As previously mentioned - they know exactly what to expect - that`s what they are paying their good money for.

The complaints about negative, boring football has been a common theme from these moaners. Well let me tell you - having recently been fortunate to witness the feast of football that was on display at Aston Villa vs Stoke - I have never been so excited at a football match.

Football these days is the side show - people don`t go to the match just for the game - those moaners just need to grow a sense of imagination. At our recent trip to Villa Park we played 'How many trains will pull into Witton Station?`,`How many airplanes will we see today` and of course saw the main spectacle of the event - a very exciting zorbing competition in which one young lad very nearly broke the record. Boring? I don`t think so!

However, perhaps to appease these moaning minnies, to pretend that you are listening to these morons who think the football is the most important thing, perhaps I can make a suggestion? Why not include a cut out paper aeroplane in the programme each week? Back in the final days of David O`Leary a fun game to make a tedious 90 minutes go by was to create paper aeroplanes and see if we could make them land on the pitch. One time it landed in the penalty box and the Holte roared. It was something very special.

The transition in turning Aston Villa to a Championship level football side is a magnificent one. Not only have you made it much easier to buy tickets, but next season we might be on the BBC as they show some live Championship games - meaning that fans who can`t afford the football coverage that SKY provides can now watch some games live on television for free.

The club`s intention to appoint a manager who was in tune with the fans and a best fit with the club really has worked a treat, and I thank you for not only making the appointment, but sticking with him. In fact, if I dare make a second suggestion - perhaps it may be worth trying to convince Mr McLeish to sign a new, longer contract to keep other clubs from sniffing around him.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr C. Cream

[Risso]

Former Reading and Manchester City boss Steve Coppell

How many people would describe Coppell as "former Manchester City boss?

He was there for less than a month wasn't he?

Former Villa defender David Unsworth.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Former Villa defender David Unsworth

Former Arsenal striker Clive Allen

[pauliewalnuts]

Former Villa defender David Unsworth

Former Arsenal striker Clive Allen

Former Torquay United manager Leroy Rosenior

[Irish villain]

In fact, if I dare make a second suggestion - perhaps it may be worth trying to convince Mr McLeish to sign a new, longer contract to keep other clubs from sniffing around him.

This part had me laughing out loud!

[Risso]

Former Villa defender David Unsworth

Former Arsenal striker Clive Allen

Former Torquay United manager Leroy Rosenior

Former Norwich City manager Wankin O'Pubehead

[Irish villain]

Former Aston Villa ace Najwan Ghrayib.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Former Torquay United manager Leroy Rosenior

Lasted less than half an hour?

Brilliant

[Sexual Ealing]

Surely it's not beyond the wit of our board to have negotiated a contract with McLeish with clauses based on performance so that, say, if he relegates us he gets sacked with no compensation, if we stay up by the skin of our teeth he gets sacked with six months money, finish mid-table then no change, top 6 then loads of cash and sweet kisses from the General?

[PaulWinch again]

Former Aston Villa ace Najwan Ghrayib.

Ah I remember the high hopes with him.